HUGHTON ON: BURNLEY

1 April 2016

Benedict Spalding

The key talking points from the Albion manager's press conference.

At his pre-match press conference, Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton delivered the latest team news, spoke about a sell-out crowd on Saturday, the threat from Sean Dyche’s Burnley, and the step up in quality in the Premier League.

Team news: “Bobby (Zamora) is the only player we need to make a decision on.

“All of our international players have returned feeling okay. It is something I am always nervous about with the possibility of picking up injuries, but I would always prefer them to play for their national sides.

“There were a few nice surprises with Jamie Murphy and Andrew Crofts being called up.

“[Gordon] Greer who hasn’t played many games, played a full 90 minutes, which was very good for us. There are more positives than negatives.”

Saturday’s sell-out: “The fans have been excellent for us all season. We just took 7000 away to MK Dons and it was an incredible achievement.

“At any club it’s the same with any supporters, they need something to cheer about and with Saturday’s game being a sell-out, it shows how well the team have performed this season. It is a testament to the team and it also shows the magnitude of the game.”

Match v Burnley: “It is a big game because of where both teams are in this league. We have already played some big games this season and they come around thick and fast in this league.

“I am very sure that the next game against Birmingham is equally as big a game. We are at home and hopefully we can get three points.

“They have a very strong team and mentality. You have to be strong enough to beat that and they are top of the league for a reason.

“They have experienced this situation before and they are very well drilled by a great manager in Sean Dyche. They haven’t changed the squad too much and they have players that can score a lot of goals.”

The jump to the Premier League: “What we have seen from teams gaining promotion is that they are very well prepared for the Premier League.

“Norwich have had a tougher time this season but Bournemouth and Watford have had very good seasons. Burnley did very well in the Premier League and only just missed out on survival last season.”